Happy Halloween 2011

This year was a lot of fun.  Seth is almost 6 months old so he's not trying to walk yet and was content to stay in the stroller and Maddy and Isaac are old enough to get Halloween and why its so fun.



This year Maddy was a rock and roll witch.  Isaac was Luigi from Mario Brothers (I made the hat and overalls for less than $4 - take that cheap crap Walmart $20 costume!).  Seth was a bumblebee.  I was, well, I'm not sure what I was.  A barmaid from ancient days?  A swedish milk maid?  Take your pick. 

Let us give a moment of silence for the bumblebee costume.  Seth is my last child and so this is the last year the costume will be worn by one of my children.  All of them have had their turn.

 

Sherri came with us this year with her kids.  I think that made it fun for me to have her there but definitely fun for the kids to have kids their own age to run to people's houses with.  Except their exuberance bubbled forth a bit too much.  I'm not sure how many times Sherri and I got after them - "You only ring the doorbell once!"  "Not all of you need a turn knocking on the door."  "If they haven't answered the door after a minute, they're probably not home.  You don't need to alternately ring the doorbell and knock on the door to make sure!"

Then we all went back to my house and had a small party.  I made some kicking beef stew.  I had also attempted a punch - pineapple juice, frozen limeade, ginger ale, sugar and a packet of lemon lime koolaid.  It was good but tart.  And then there was Jack who got really excited about the dry ice.  He kept dumping it in until our punch was essential a slush.  It was kinda cool how that worked though.  I made the kids mummy dogs - hot dogs wrapped in strips of canned creasant rolls.  What a success!  Even my picky eater (Isaac) ate the whole thing!  Sherri made this awesome homemade bean dip with black beans, with home made guacamole on top with lines of sour cream.  I have to say - a complete triumph!

Everyone went home stuffed and sticky and it was a good year.

Maddy's Jammies

I love Pinterest.  I found this tutorial for turning an adult sized sweater into a dress for a baby girl.  But the concept of the dress is pretty simple.  So on Monday, Maddy comes home from school to announce that her class has won a pajama day at school.  Its going to be on Wednesday.  Well, slight problem.  She doesn't really have any jammies that appropriately fit her and we have no money.  But I do have tons of fabric, and some flannel that I kept telling myself I was going to do something with.  Well, with no time, and no pattern that could easily be done in a day and a half, I thought about that tutorial.  Seemed simple enough - cut a-line body, do a peasant style sleeve and neckline, sew a bias tube around the neck-line and use elastic to tighten up the neckline until it fits just right.  Here's what I made:

 

The neckline was probably done up a little too tightly but it still fit perfectly!  And can you believe it, it only took about 2 hours to do the whole thing, including ironing up my own bias tape at the neckline!

And then there was Seth . . .

Because I'm so behind, I'm not going to do a retrospective on Seth since he was born.  We'll just move on from here.  Plus, I'm going to be using this mostly as a forum for Mom and Dad to see pictures of the kids more often since Mom has an easier time using her email than her Facebook.

I took a few pics today because I wanted Mom to see some stuff!  Original, I know.  But here goes.

She never got to see what Seth's blanket and sheet set that she made looked like in his crib.  Unfortunately, the length of elastic in the crib sheet she made to go with the blanket was not long enough to allow me to put it on his mattress, so I may have to correct that some time myself.  But I did have another clean crib sheet in white that works just as well.  Here is Seth laying on top of this super-duper cute blanket!


 

And without binkie and mysteriously disappearing arms:

   

I love him.

Santa Babies

Yes Isaac's eyes are closed. We would have had the lady take another picture but he was already not excited to be as close to Santa as he was, even with the rocking horse incentive, so we called it good. At least this Santa didn't looked a like a Lester Molester like last year's.

For Aunt Peggy

Unprompted, Maddy drew this this morning:


The dress she made me draw for her but everything else is all Madeline!

I Made That!

This is not only a really cute layout I made with Photoshop, but it also show the new outfits I made for the kids for our upcoming trip to Grandma's and Grandpa's. I did not make the shirts but I did applique them and I made the shorts to match. I do have to warn you that this layout was totally scraplifted from a layout I saw in Creating Keepsakes so I can't take very much credit for the design.

Oh and wonder of wonders! Isaac is now finally loving the camera. It was nearly impossible to get him to smile at the camera because I think he was too fascinated with it to smile, but now he runs around going "CHEESE!" So cute!

First Digital Scrapbook Page Attempt

Done today with Photoshop Elements 7. I'm slowly falling in love!!

Isaac Says Words

So I've noticed that the majority of these blog posts center around Madeline. I feel sort of guilty about that since I do have another child. And what a kid he is! His personality is becoming so well defined as he's getting older and you can see how Maddy's ebullient ways are rubbing off on him. But at the same time he's different than she is.

Right now my favorite thing about Isaac is his sudden interest in learning new words. He's been saying Mom and Dad for a while now, but now finally Dad and Doug are distinguishable. Doug sounds more like Gugk, but its close enough. Some of the other words he's saying is 'juice' and 'shoes' (those also finally being distinguishable from each other). He says 'thanks' and 'please' - sounds sort of like how Roger Rabbit used to say it 'puweese'. Some of his other words are probably not understandable to anyone but those that live with him. Like he knows his own name but we have to sort of point out that's what he's saying. He also likes the number 6 - and he'll tell you that's how old he is if you ask him. Wishful thinking bud!

My all-time favorite thing he says I've been waiting to hear since he was first put in my arms. For no apparent reason the other day as we had just picked Maddy up from preschool, he say "I love you." to me. My heart melted. I love those words the best, and to have him say it to me without provication makes it that much more special.

Smart Buy

I went to the DI yesterday. I am constantly in search of an old, but still serviceable dresser I can re-varnish or paint to put in Maddy or Isaac's room. I just have this thing about buying something brand new that's going to get destroyed anyway.

So while we're there, Isaac finds one of those Lil Tykes cars. It was love at first sight. He got in it and for the whole rest of the time we were in the store, he was in it. There was a point where Madeline insisted that she have a turn and went so far as to try to shove him over to get a turn. You should have seen the royal fit he pitched. He is normally very accommodating of his bigger sister when it comes to toys and books. It probably stems from her insistence that all toys are hers (whether they really are or not). But with this car, he would brook no exception. This was his!

After we had checked out, I even let him ride the car to the van. But of course in order to get home, he'd have to ride in his carseat. Bring on the tantrum. He threw himself back, he screamed at the top of his lungs, he even tried to bite me, all because I took him out of his car. I managed to get him somewhat calmed down as I put the car in the back of the van. But as soon as I went to close the back door, the tantrum was bigger and louder than ever. The only thought I can think was that he probably thought that once I got the car in the van, that I would let him sit in it on the way home. Um, no.

So as I write this tale, the car is in the garage. Obviously the weather has not only been ticking me off, it has the kids as well. I can't let him ride in his car and Maddy can't ride her new bike because its just too darn cold. But I'm sure that this spring, I'll see that this car will be the best buy at the DI I'll likely ever make for $8.

Year Four Checkup

Maddy saw Dr. Jen yesterday for her 4 year old check up. She's up to 37 pounds and both her weight and height are in normal ranges for her age. She's got 20/30 vision which I am assured is normal for her age. Dr. Jen says that kids don't end up with 20/20 vision until they're around 7. A small blessing considering both Jack and I wear glasses.

Looks like based on last years report, Madeline will have to endure another nuclear cystogram. We are insisting on drugs again this year. Cross your fingers that her urinary reflux has finally resolved itself this year.

I've also decided to go ahead and get her vaccinations she'll need for kindergarten this year instead of next year. It'll be one less stressor she'll have to deal with between kindergarten exam, meeting her teaher and being away from mom for so long during the day. I am, however, going to have it done on a day Jack can go with me. I think having daddy there will help her get through it better, plus I'll need someone to hold her down when she realizes what we're doing. Dr. Jen's nurse, Dana, is the super best at shot giving and so I've also insisted that she be the one that administers them.

Potty Training Horizon?

So as I was changing Isaac, he started getting a really weird look on his face and then out puffed a little fart. Then, as truly the Son of Jack, giggled. Sometimes farts mean poop. Sometimes they don't. So I threw it out there - do want to go potty on the potty? To my surprise, he nodded so I followed him into the bathroom and put him on the toilet. He sat there for about a minute or so and then wanted to get down. I think this was more pretend pottying than truly a conscious effort on his part to go, but I found this encouraging. Madeline really didn't have a true interest in the potty until she after she turned two. I had tried to no avail to start her at 18 months with her just as willing to potty in her trainers or panties as regular diapers. And then of course you hear that boys hold out to the bitter end to train. My friend's little boy is fully potty trained just as he nears his Kindergarten deadline. So the fact that Isaac even considers the potty something other than a bowl of water to play in is highly encouraging to me. I'll take it on his time and cross your fingers he trains up faster than Maddy did.

When Madeline and scissors go wrong . . .

Um, yeah so this is my dear daughter's handiwork. I guess she must have thought that her bangs were too long or was pretty confident that cutting hair was a piece of cake. This is the result. I'm very glad that her hair grows pretty fast, especially her bangs. I guess we'll be visiting you Amy Ann in a couple of weeks.

Birthday Girl

Madeline turned four years old on Thursday. Time seriously flies. She amazes me every day. Here is a little picture of Madeline at 4:

She can be so sweet and loving, and then defiant and stubborn.

She loves her preschool class. Brycie is awesome with her and she's doing really well.

She loves church and bugs us all the time about going to nursery, until she found out how much fun Sunbeams is, and now she wants to go there all the time.

She loves being outside, and she can't wait until the weather is warmer so she can ride her new Sleeping Beauty bike.

She loves her brother Isaac - a lot. They fight and pick at each other but she is so mothering to him its funny.

She loves to play dress up.

She loves to color and draw. She's not the best at keeping her crayons, chalks or pencils out of harms way. But she loves chalking up the sidewalks, and coloring in coloring books, reams of paper and walls.

She loves animals. Her new dog Ebony and her haven't quite figured out not to harm each other but I think with age, Ebony will be one of her best friends.

She loves to play with friends. She has a fit when they or we have to leave.

Her favorite foods are chicken nuggets and pizza.

She could watch Disney movies all day long if I let her.

She comes up with the strangest comments like "Your grandma's daughter aren't you?"

She is very helpful when she wants to be. She gets me things all the time and usually has a good attitude about it. She gets distracted easily so cleaning her room takes much longer than it should.

She loves to sing and dance. When her Aunt Peggy comes over, there is nothing better in this world than when they dance around to music on her iPod and sing Disney princess songs. She loves the Veggietales CD that has her name referenced in it and will sing along with most of the songs. She even makes up her own little songs as well.

She has the best mad face!

She loves going to the library. She loves storytime when we can make it on time. She loves to look at books and I'm pretty sure she's getting close to reading them on her own.

She LOVES McDonalds.

She will repeat the same question over and over and over again until I acknowledge her asking it.

The best time in her whole small life was when she went to Disneyland. She still talks about it and keeps asking if we're going today.

She loves talking on the phone. Her favorite people to talk to on the phone are her Aunt Amy Jo, Peggy and Grandma and Grandpa. She is such a little teenager about it too - she'll hold the phone to her ear, then cock her head to one side, her other hand on her hip, and walk around the room while she's talking. Most people don't understand what she's talking about because after the initial hello, she really isn't listening to the other person.

She loves to take baths. She'd take a bath multiple times a day if I let her. She pretends to swim in the water. Occasionally she'll say she wants to go back to her old home. She means the apartment we used to live in that had a pool. She loves the water and misses the pool.

Insists on going to the bathroom by herself. If she can get a small stall, that's the one she'll use.

She demanded the other day that I buy her a Beauty bed. After many questions I figured out she was talking about a canopy bed. She only relented when I told her we don't have enough money for it.


There's about a million more but there are so many things about her that are great, frustrating and lovable.

I love you, my little nugget!

The Countdown

So the countdown is on for when Isaac Douglas will make an appearance in our little family. I would use that as an excuse for not blogging lately but the simple truth is that I got out of the habit when the spring sun started to shine and then my pregnant brain made me forget what the fetch my username and password was. At that point, I had given up but I think it's important to note Madeline's travails as she rushes head-long into big sisterhood. She only has 13 more days to be an only child.

I have to admit that at first, I was extremely nervous that she would reject the baby. After seeing her with dozens of stranger babies, and the way she loves to interact with Haleigh, I don't have that fear anymore. I think she'll be a little mommy to Isaac. The worry I have now is that she'll be mad at me. She has suddenly become very snuggly to me. She has never, even as an infant, been a very cuddly child. Sure, she wanted comfort when she was sick or hurt. We now find ourselves snuggling in my bed in the mornings after she wakes up watching her new favorite shows, Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go! Then if I sit on the couch in our family room, she will inevitably find herself sitting right next to me. Don't get me wrong, in a way, I cherish this with all my heart. I love to feel her little big-girl body pressed up against me, confirming that she loves I'm her mommy. But enter Baby Isaac. How is she going to handle it? Mommy won't be so completely at her disposal. Time will tell, I suppose.

On a brighter note in all of the Sivill family's lives, we are moving! We found out that we were now in a good financial position to buy a house a month earlier than expected. We looked around and found a cute little house in Tooele, Utah (about 30 miles west of Salt Lake City). We feel the Lord's hand in this. Too many things have been going right so far. Not only did the seller accept our inital offer with no counter-offer (we offered them $14,000 less than they were asking for) but they want to close on the house a week earlier than we had proposed. Now closing is completely up to the mortgage folks we're dealing with but still, we just feel so blessed. It has just about everything we had on our wish list. It's a total of about 2800 sq feet with 1400 being the top floor. Its got a huge kitchen, 3 bedrooms on the top, a laundry room on the top floor, in a new, nice neighborhood with a small community park with a playset across the street, and a nice master bedroom with doors to the bathroom and closet I can actually get my wheelchair through (note: most newer built homes were using sub-standard sized door frames for master baths and closets). So hopefully the next month's timetable will look something like this:

July 10 - Issac makes his appearance by c-section
July 23 - we close on the house and start moving in
July 30 - we close on the house because the guy selling it will be out of town the week before and for some reason we couldn't close on the 23rd
August 24 - I will be living large in my new house for my 31st birthday and make everyone drive for a hour or more to get to my house to celebrate - LOL

In My Big Girl Bed

So yesterday morning I'm laying in bed. Usually I lay there and listen to the beautiful sounds of my daughter in her crib either singing to herself (or her bears) or talking to herself. But instead, I hear a little fist knocking on the inside of her bedroom door. Uh. . . so she managed to crawl out of her crib without killing herself. Now since she is almost two and I don't want her to do an encore performance and manage to kill herself that time, I decide it's time for a big girl bed. Luckily, when we got the crib it was designed to convert from crib to toddler bed to full size kid bed. We're moving on up!

So here is the result:

So at first she was all excited that she could climb in and out at will, and was bouncing around inside. But as it neared bedtime, and daddy turned out the overhead light so we could say prayers, she wasn't so confident. So Maddy and I talked about sleeping in her Big Girl bed with her Bear and princess blankie. As soon as prayers were over and we sang a bedtime song, she laid down without much fuss. Fast forward to about 1:30am. I hear a cry. Normally, if she wakes up its because she's lost "B" or binkie. She refuses to sleep without one. But just as I was opening the door to see what was up, I found her taking a nose dive into the carpet. Apparently, she had forgotten that the first step's a bit of a doosey, especially at 1:00 in the morning. She didn't hurt herself badly. As you can see it's not that far to fall. I'm thinking that the whole non-crib set up had freaked her out a bit. All change does to everyone, but it was really the first time in her life that a thing that was so constant in herself was different. Thankfully, a hugs and kisses and a diaper change later she crawled back into her bed and fell back to sleep.

New Stuff

Some stuff Grandma either made me or bought for me!

Brown Dress for a Brown-Eyed Girl

View#2

My New Jacket and Hat!

Bigger Smile

Apple Dress

Closer View

Madeline Dancing at Festival of Trees

I have to warn you that this is VERY dark and VERY short. I'm sorry I don't have any video edit programs to lighten this up.

It was a moment I captured where Madeline was dancing along with some girls doing scenes from the Nutcracker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07__BlHOd34

Hope you love it as much as I do.

Stop It!

If you spend any amount of time at home with Maddy and I now, you will inevitably hear this phrase. It is one of many new ones she's picked up, of which, is not the least irritatingly cute. I have to admit she probably got it from me, but exacerbated by a book her Aunt Laura got her where if you put the wand over a picture it either says the name of the picture or makes a song or sound representing that picture. Her favorite one was a stop sign. Stop! it says sharply. She would pick it out again and again. Then the 'it' was soon to follow. Let's go! and Maaammaaa are frequent phrases as well.

She's getting quite adept at songs. She will sing along to the ABC song and knows the hand signs for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree". We're currently working on "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home." One of these days I'll figure out how to add small videos from my camera to here so you can see her in action.

The Streak

She is the streak! My Maddy is hilarious. It started one day when she was just running around in her diaper. I'm figuring at one point she must have peed in that diaper and didn't like the feel of it. So in her truly inventive, intellegent way, she pulled on the tabs and pulled it off. I rounded the corner to buttcheeks running in the wind. And so it has been ever since. Any time you keep her in just a diaper for any amount of time, you can bet her diaper will be off and she's flying free.

She's also done this in her crib. I went in there the other day to be greeting by bending buttcheeks. She had been wearing footie jammies but one without a zipper cover at the top. She had figured out how to unzip her jammies far enough down so she can get out of them and then get her diaper off. I've had to resort to putting a saftey pin under the zipperhead so that she can't do that when wearing those kinds of pajamas.

Christmas for Maddy

Madeline loved the Christmas tree, with all its sparkly lights and fun ornaments. She could not, however, leave the tree alone and any candy cane that happened to be near the bottom was eaten, and we've one ornament casualty. This Christmas she has become a fantastic candy and cookie fiend to the point where regular food does not interest her anymore. When asked what she wants for breakfast - "Cookies!"

Christmas morning was a mixture of fun realizations and ones yet to come. The fact that more presents sat under the tree than from the night before didn't phase her at all. The fact that she got to open all these fun packages was delight to her. That at least she enjoyed with relish. She got so many fun ones this year she kept going from one to the other, not able to decide which to play with first. She got a Little People castle playset and the additions of Sir Lance-A-Little and his dragon, and A Night at the Ball set with dancing prince and princess and their horse drawn carriage to go with it. She also got a set of Disney board books with all the Disney movies, and a ride-upon plane with Winnie the Pooh (currently the most played with). She also got from her cousins in Las Vegas an Elmo book that's supposed to teach words but doesn't work very well (we'll have to replace the battery I think) and a music center complete with working microphone that she loves.

Later that day, she got from Tyler, Gab and Haleigh a cute My Little Pony doll and from the Bradshaws two Carl books that she loves to ready because of the doggy in them. Her Great Aunt Pamela got her a cute Christmas bear. All in all, she got a lot of love from her family that showed in how thoughtful their gifts were. I know the high point for her day was when we went to the Bradshaw and she got to play with her cousins there.